Jamal Collier, ESPN
LAS VEGAS — The Milwaukee Bucks are the only team to return here for the NBA Cup for the second year in a row, a significant turnaround from a 2-8 start this season.
Milwaukee, which has improved to 11-3 since then, is undefeated in cup games (5-0) heading into Saturday’s East semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks, with star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Bucks’ roster. He was given a chance to put an end to what he called a “bad aftertaste.” After losing in the semifinals last season.
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“We were playing really bad basketball at the beginning of the year. We just needed to win games,” Antetokounmpo said during Friday’s media day. “We were just trying to turn our season around. We weren’t doing well. Now we’re competing, playing better, everyone coming together and we’ve had a great run. We just have to do it.” ‘Keep doing that.’ ”
Antetokounmpo acknowledged that the Bucks’ slow start forced them to play with more urgency early in the season, and that the NBA Cup gave them more intensity.
But even when the Bucks were struggling early, there was one thing Damian Lillard said gave them confidence: his conversations with Antetokounmpo and his co-star’s demeanor.
“His mind never closed off, he never got discouraged, he never got too worried,” Lillard said Friday. “There were always fights. Our conversations were always, ‘We’ve got to turn it around, we’ve got to figure it out, we’ve got to lead, we’ve got to keep moving forward, we’ve got to dominate.'”
“That was the conversation and that was naturally my spirit. Being in that situation and seeing that that was naturally his spirit as well, I believed I wasn’t too worried. “We knew things would change eventually.” ”
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Coach Doc Rivers has called the NBA Cup a litmus test for the Bucks, comparing them to other teams that are still alive, such as Atlanta, the Houston Rockets, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and jokingly calls the Bucks “an old team” on the field. ” he called.
“Every year, the team takes a different journey,” Rivers said. “It’s good to mix these two groups and see how we react. Great teacher. I’m going to learn something through this. I don’t know what it is. . Every team is going to take something from this. It’s going to help them moving forward. ”
Lillard agreed that this trip is a chance for the Bucks to test themselves in a playoff-like environment.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Lillard said. “Recently we have been able to win a lot of games and this is just another opportunity for us to continue that, but we have further goals and hope to gain further momentum from experiences like this. You can do it.”
The Bucks are back here and looking to take another step forward after losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals last season.
It’s a feat for the Bucks to bounce back after such a rocky start, but for Antetokounmpo, continuing to play strong basketball every day after a slow start has been the focus since the start of the season.
“I felt bad at the beginning of the season when we were 2-8,” Antetokounmpo said. “Nobody likes to lose. Everybody’s playing to win. I think we definitely had a little more urgency as a team. We had to fix some things. More team basketball. I had to play and I had to compete at a higher level.”
“Me and Damian came together and realized that was very important. We’ve been playing great basketball ever since.”
